The Cairo Tower (Arabic: برج القاهرة‎, burj al-qāhira, colloquially burg al-qāhira) is a free-standing concrete tower located in Cairo, Egypt. At 187 m (614 ft), it has been the tallest structure in Egypt and North Africa for 50 years. It was the tallest structure in Africa for 10 years, until 1971 when it was surpassed by Hillbrow Tower in South Africa. One of Cairo's well-known landmarks, it stands in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the River Nile, close to Downtown Cairo.